City of the Stars
by Hideout Writer
Summary: A single destination Stargate is placed on an uncharted world. Shortly afterward, the Aurora leaves the Pegasus Galaxy forever. Ten thousand years later, Atlantis arrives off the coast of Alagaesia. A re-write of The Stargate of Alagaesia.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

The Stargate glinted in the light of the mid-afternoon sun. The work of three days, the crew of the _Aurora_ had installed it after a premonition experienced by Linnëa, one of their senior staff, caused them to stop there. It was discovered that the forest roots possessed an electrically conductive compound found in most plants, though in far greater quantities than usual. Additionally, it appeared that these roots were actually generating electrical power as a by-product of the tree's photosynthesis. The Stargate had a lockout installed in it, so that no-one could ever dial that 'gate, aside from Atlantis herself.

Finally, as the crew prepared to leave, Linnëa remained behind, to activate the shield generators they had left in the forest to guard the gate and that world from the Wraith. She would live out the rest of her days on that world.

As ten thousand years went by, things changed. Somehow, the trees themselves began to act as shield generators, and the originals burned themselves out with no-one available to maintain and repair them. Linnëa fell in love with someone, but when he found another lover, she killed him and his new lover in a fit of rage. Horrified by what she had done, she ran to her favorite tree, and sang for three full days, using words of change that wove her into the tree, merging her life with the life of that tree. From then on, she mainly focused on the network of trees that generated the powerful shield keeping the world of Alagaesia safe.

On the _Aurora_ , the crew entered stasis, linking their minds together in the ship's powerful computers, and carried on as best they could, hoping to receive the recall signal from Atlantis. Without being fully aware of what was truly happening, their ship took some damage, though most of it could easily be repaired. Over time, their bodies decayed in the stasis pods as power reserves slowly dwindled away. When at last a Wraith queen snuck aboard and joined the crew in stasis, the crew found out how long they'd been sleeping, and chose to destroy the ship, ending their cruelly prolonged lives, and taking a few of the enemy with them.

 _Friends, family, fellow countrymen! Lend me your ears! …er, wrong one? Let me try again._

 _A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away, Naboo was under an attack…no, that's still not right._

 _A long, long time ago, I promised a re-write of the Stargate of Alagaesia. This is that re-write. So! Please read, please enjoy, and above all, for the love of everything you hold dear, please leave a review. I really like those things._


	2. Chapter 2

A week after the mission to the _Aurora_ , John Sheppard finally had enough time to take the information crystal down to McKay's lab for viewing and translation.

"That's odd," McKay muttered, poking a few buttons. He puzzled over the information displayed there for several moments, silently translating.

"What's odd?" Sheppard asked. "You know I have trouble reading this stuff."

"Then you should learn it," McKay retorted. "I can't be around to save our asses all the time, you know."

"Fine, I'll study up on it," Sheppard grumbled.

"Good. Now, the rough translation here is, oh, stop laughing, you can't seem to read it at all, so right now, I'm your best source," the scientist snapped irritably.

Sheppard stopped snickering immediately.

"Okay, so, basically, it's an address with the notation 'protected world, access from only Atlantis'. Best guess is that means that no other 'gate in the galaxy can dial the place, which means that either the Wraith have found it and used it as a place to hide, which is unlikely, or they have never found it, and never will unless someone leads them there."

"Nice. So, a better than fifty percent chance we've found a safe spot in the galaxy," Sheppard simplified.

"In simple terms," Rodney sighed, "yes."

"Great. I'll get Teyla and Ronon, you can tell Elizabeth, and get Dr. Beckett to come along as well," Sheppard said, walking away.

=/\=

The warriors faced each other, holding their weapons in a ready stance as they slowly shuffled around a circle that only they could see. Separated by only a few feet, they stared into each other's eyes, trying to see what their opponent would do; where they would go.

A very mild sort of tension would build up in the room before boiling over to the sound of wood impacting on wood several times before the shuffled dance began again. The cycle frequently repeated itself, until a new element entered the equation, disrupting the dance.

"John, it is good to see you," Teyla said, briefly bowing to Ronon. "Have we completed the time Dr. Weir wished us to spend off active duty?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to get a little crazy being cooped up here on Atlantis," Ronon added gruffly.

"Well, about that…" Sheppard started. "I was starting to get a bit bored myself. I'm all caught up on _War and Peace_ , and all the relevant paperwork is done, so I thought maybe we could follow a lead I got from the captain of the _Aurora_."

"…and Dr. Weir has permitted this?" Teyla asked, doubt showing openly on her face.

"Not yet…" Sheppard said slowly. He perked up as he added, "but I bet she will. It's a safe world, so it's not like we can get into any trouble out there, right?"

"With optimism like that, who needs enemies?" Ronon asked, toweling his face.

"Who told you about Murphy?" Sheppard shot back, amused.

"Rodney has explained quite a bit about the great god Murphy. He said that whenever someone asks if it's possible to get into trouble, Murphy will do everything possible to make trouble for the person that said it," Teyla explained. "It seems odd that you would worship such a god. Would you not remove much of his power by not worshipping him?"

Sheppard blinked in surprise, then said "Uh…not really? Why did Rodney explain about Murphy?"

"He thought we ought to know, after I accidentally invoked Murphy a while back," Ronon rumbled. He picked up the blaster he'd left on a bench, checked the setting, then dropped it into a holster.

Teyla spun her rods a final time, almost as though she wished to continue sparring, then placed them on the rack and slipped out of the gym to retrieve a vest and P-90 from the armory.

Sheppard followed, and Ronon shrugged to nobody in particular before following Sheppard out of the gym.

=/\=

While Sheppard had been talking with Teyla and Ronon, Dr. Weir was engrossed in a treatise on Ascension. It wasn't until McKay knocked for the third time, that she looked up, startled.

The office door slid open, and she waved for Rodney to sit down. "What's up, Rodney?" she asked, smiling.

"John wanted to go to this address, and thought I should tell you about it," Rodney said, placing a piece of paper on the desk. "Apparently the crew of the _Aurora_ had placed it on a world which they then shielded. The stargate there can only be dialed from Atlantis, because of the special identifier code in our DHD. I highly doubt the Wraith have ever been there, if they even know about that world."

Dr. Weir nodded, then looked out towards the Stargate standing in the Atrium below her office. "And who do you plan on taking?"

"Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon, and I plus Carson," Rodney answered.

"Ok. Take a Jumper with you. Find out if we can get Atlantis to that world. I very much like the idea of being on a safe world. If that won't work, hopefully there's a trade opportunity there," Dr. Weir said. "And Rodney, good luck out there," she smiled.

Rodney nodded his thanks, then left the office. A moment later, Carson walked up the grand staircase, followed immediately by Sheppard and his team.

Dr. Weir stood, and walked over to the bay window of her office, and watched as Chuck hunted for the right keys on the DHD and entered them. As the lights flashed on the stargate, she listened to the noises it was making and smiled. It felt right, sending teams out again.

The not-water of the unstable vortex spun out, then retracted to form a vertical pool surrounded by eight blue lights. Above the slight roar of the open wormhole, a new note entered the song as one of the Jumpers stored above the Atrium descended through the ceiling iris door. It paused for a moment, six inches above the floor, then rocked forward slightly, and shot forward through the stargate.

With the remnants of a smile still dancing on her lips, Dr. Weir returned to the treatise on Ascension.

 _A/N: So, I'm taking a bit more time to produce this than the original, but I'm also trying to put everything I have into it, which is considerably more now than it was back when the original was created. Anyway, I'd love some reviews, especially if you've got some criticism for me! There's a box down below for that, in case you didn't know._

 _Answers to Readers:_

 _orionastro: Stick around, I'll eventually lay the whole story out for you._

 _: Hence the re-write. It's intended to be better than the original._

 _davycrockett100: …right._

 _Trife: I'll try not to leave you hanging for ages between updates._


	3. Chapter 3

Linnëa noticed almost immediately when the stargate, _her_ stargate, activated. The ancient tree brought herself to full activity, a state she rarely entered, and alerted a nearby elf. The Jumper that emerged through the stargate had human signatures within, and Linnëa informed the elf that the occupants of the strange craft were likely to be friends.

The elf quickly found a mirror, and cast the scrying spell on it that would allow her to speak with the Queen.

"What has you so agitated, Midia?" Islanzadí asked, after properly observing the traditional greetings.

"My queen, the Ring has stirred, and a strange craft appeared from its waters. Linnëa says that they may very well be friends," Midia answered.

"Indeed," Islanzadí mused. "Water, you said?"

"Yes, like a pool on a windy day, stood on its side within the Ring. It evaporated before any of us could approach it."

"You mentioned that Linnëa said they might well be friends. What state was she in at that time?" Islanzadí asked.

"She was as active as she had been during the Blood-Oath celebration, nay, more active than even that," Midia amended. "Her bark took the appearance of an elf, and she spoke plainly."

Islandzadí's eyes widened in shock. Linnëa had never done that before in recorded elvish history, which meant that it was incredibly important if she had actually done so. "Thank you for telling me. We shall keep an eye out for them here. Alert Eragon, and Nasuada, if Eragon is engaged in matters away from the Varden. Du evarinya ovo varda." With those final words from the Queen, Midia allowed the spell to drop, and Islanzadí's image evaporated from the mirror.

"Huh," Sheppard muttered, peering through the windscreen. "Looks like there's a war going on down there…unless they're going for largest bar fight records."

"What shall we do then?" Teyla asked, standing halfway out of her chair. Concerned brown eyes took in the violence below for several second before she settled back into her seat.

Ronon checked his blaster setting again, simply to make sure, and Dr. Beckett began looking through the medical kit he had brought with him. Rodney's knuckles whitened around the Beretta in its holster.

"I think I'm going for shock and awe," Sheppard commented, urging the throttles forward. A thought and the Jumper de-cloaked, just in time for it to visibly fly just over the rooftops of the city. Sheppard reached forward, and dialed up the inertial dampeners, then banked hard right while throttling down.

As the Jumper appeared in the sky above Gil'ead, both groups of combatants retreated, certain that it was the work of the other, and waited as it slowly touched down in the town square. There, the drive pods retracted, and the ramp whined as it slowly descended.

Murmuring broke out amongst the two armies, as the fighters gathered there tried to make sense of what had just landed in the middle of their battle.

Ronon walked out first, his blaster loosely pointed at the ground. His eyes cast about, searching for targets as he cautiously moved down the ramp. Behind him, Teyla and Sheppard came out with their P-90s at the ready, each paying attention to one side of the Jumper.

Somehow recognizing that the strange weapons carried by the newcomers were similar to bows, the soldiers of the Empire raised their shields, and bunched together, forming a solid wall of shields.

After several tense moments, Islanzadí pushed past her front lines, and glided towards the trio. At the same time, Sheppard spoke up, speaking to all present. "Would anyone like to explain to me exactly what's going on here? I seem to be a little short on context at the moment."

"Were you not sent by Galbatorix?" Islanzadí retorted. "Certainly, he should have given you the information you needed."

"They aren't with the elves?" one of the soldiers muttered. A glare from his commander saw the man subside.

"Who are you, and who is your ruler?" an Imperial commander cried out.

"My name is John Sheppard, and I answer to Dr. Weir," he said. "Who's _your_ ruler?"

"We serve King Galbatorix, in the proud defense of this land!" the Imperial commander answered.

"I am Queen Islanzadí, of the elves. In alliance with the Varden, we seek to overthrow the tyranny of King Galbatorix," she stated. "Where have you come from? Linnëa has indicated that you are likely to be friends to our people."

"Did we meet anyone on our way in?" McKay asked sarcastically. "I thought we kind of flew through a bit fast to make introductions."

The Queen inclined her head slightly. "Perhaps for your kind," she said. "But Linnëa is an ancient, even by our standards. She has had many centuries in which to hone her abilities."

"Did she just say Ancient?" Sheppard asked.

"I believe she did. Perhaps we should listen to what she has to say," Teyla replied softly.

"Okay…McKay, Ronon, keep an eye on those guys," Sheppard ordered, waving vaguely towards the Imperial soldiers. "Teyla and I are going to speak with the Queen a little more privately."

"You've got it, Sheppard," Ronon grunted, turning to face the soldiers.

"He's always finding the ladies," McKay muttered to Ronon as Sheppard was walking away. John pretended not to hear, though he couldn't completely suppress the slight smirk when he heard McKay add, "stupid Captain Kirk syndrome."

"If someone I don't know is speaking on my behalf, I think I'd like to meet with them," Sheppard said quietly.

"That can be arranged," Islanzadi replied. "However, I will need to ride with you in your strange flying craft, as the journey would otherwise be several days on foot."

"We can do that easily enough," Sheppard answered.

"Will you require guards?" Teyla asked. "We do not have much extra space within the Jumper."

"My magic will be sufficient," Islanzadi answered regally.

Teyla and Sheppard shared a look, then Teyla nodded fractionally. John raised his eyebrows slightly, and Teyla nodded again. "Very well," Teyla said at last.

Islanzadi motioned towards the Jumper, and the trio began walking back to the Ancient spacecraft.

 _A/N: So, that chapter got caught in a bottleneck of ideas, and as soon as I figure out who dropped a fifty-three foot trailer of_ rabid _plot bunnies RIGHT OUTSIDE MY FRONT DOOR, I intend to_ [MESSAGE REDACTED] _So, yeah. Once I was able to clear the bottleneck, then I had some problems actually getting the tail end of this chapter put together, as some of the holes didn't line up properly, so getting the bolts in required me to void the warranty while assembling._

 _Anyway, you didn't go to the bottom of the page just to listen to me blathering on about my problems, so:_

 _Answers to Readers:_

 _Siskodefiant: Yes to all three, though it's all getting re-worked a bit._

 _Trife: Glad you like it._

 _To the Ninth of the Feather series: Thanks for the advice. Hopefully, I'll get my dialogue into a better place._

 _Telron: Glad you like it._

 _Okay, I'm done here. Leave a review; I'm going to get a coffee, and see about that next chapter._


	4. Chapter 4

The Jumper's whine deepened in pitch as Sheppard slowed the craft on approach to the forest.

"The protective wards that we have woven around the forest will disrupt the magics of this craft," Islanzadi warned. "You should land before that happens."

"There's no magic here," McKay answered condescendingly. "Besides, there's no such thing as magic. It's mere superstition, and if there's something that actually does look like magic, it's because the person doing it is close to Ascension."

"Rodney…" Sheppard warned.

"What?" McKay whined. "You know it's true."

"Actually, I don't," John answered firmly. "We've never been here before. Perhaps there is magic, and we've just never found it before. We don't know yet, so we can't definitively say one way or the other. As a scientist, I would have figured you would have known that better than most."

"The first thing they taught us in college was that there's no such thing as magic, just sufficiently advanced technology," McKay retorted.

While the two men argued, Teyla turned towards Islanzadi. "I apologize on his behalf," she said quietly. "He is a brilliant man in his field of expertise, but sadly lacking in his ability to interact well with others."

"I…" Islanzadi paused for a moment, as a brief look of distaste flashed across her features. "I am aware of the type. Unless I am much mistaken, he is well known among your people as one who achieves the desired results?" At Teyla's silent nod, Islanzadi continued. "It has resulted in the belief that his tongue has carte blanche because of his value."

Teyla nodded again. "He's not so rude when you get to know him, unless you say something to annoy him."

Between Sheppard and McKay, the argument continued on unabated.

"The first thing the SGC should have taught you was that everything you were taught in a conventional setting could be turned on it's head at any given time. It's a big universe out there, surely there's more to the discussion of special powers than the Ancients," John said. "Your scientific sins as a pioneer aside, you _are_ aware that you spoke down to a Queen, right?"

McKay rewound the conversation in his head, then paled considerably. "Oh," he muttered quietly. After a moment of deep breathing to steady himself, he turned back towards Islanzadi. "Your majesty, I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I should have thought before I spoke."

Islanzadi stared flatly at Rodney for several seconds, and waited while the sweat beaded on his forehead. "I accept your apology," she said at last. "See to it that you do not repeat your mistake again."

The Jumper slowed to a stop a safe distance from the stargate, and settled to the ground as it's systems began to power down.

"So, where is this Linnëa person you talked about?" Sheppard asked, once the Jumper was completely settled.

"I am here," came the reply.

Ronon's blaster was immediately aimed at the tree the voice had emanated from, and Teyla immediately pushed him arm back down. "I am sure that if they wished to harm us, they would have done so by now," she murmured, pitched so only Ronon could hear.

After several seconds, Ronon relaxed, and shoved his blaster back into the holster. Seconds later, he very nearly drew his blaster again, as Linnëa stepped out of her tree.

"You are come from Atlantis, the great city?" she queried softly.

"Yes, we are," Telya confirmed, smiling. "Linnëa, I presume?"

"Your presumption is correct. But I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but aside from Queen Islanzadí here, I know none of your names?"

"Ah. Well, I'm John Sheppard, leader of the military contingent on Atlantis-" Linnëa quickly cut him off.

"With, not on," she said sternly. "Atlantis had always seemed alive when I was there, and to say on the way you do suggests that Atlantis isn't alive."

"Right, with," John agreed easily. "And this is my team. Specialist Ronon Dex from Seteda-"

"A noble warrior then," Linnëa noted.

"Just a warrior," Ronon rumbled. "I haven't been considered noble since Seteda fell and I was consigned to be a Runner as a training toy for the Wraith."

"Teyla Emmagen, of Athos-" John was beginning to look a bit put out as Linnëa interrupted yet again.

"The Emmagen line yet persists, then?"

Teyla's brow furrowed briefly. "In what manner do you mean?"

Linnëa spread her hands in a gesture that roughly translated to 'peace'. "I meant no ill," she assured Teyla. "The last that I had heard, one of the Queens had personally marked the Emmagen line for destruction, as they so frequently interfered with her schemes."

Teyla dipped her head in acknowledgement. "The line yet continues, though I am the last Emmagen. That Queen was not entirely successful in her plot, and died, impaled from behind by my great-grandfather's spear. Unfortunately, the remainder of my family was annihilated in a culling not three years after."

"The fourth member of the team is Dr. Rodney McKay, of Earth," John said, trying to get a word in edgewise.

"I find I am not familiar with that line," Linnëa said, frowning. "What is it you do?" she asked, addressing McKay directly.

"I'm the chief scientist with Atlantis," McKay said, drawing himself up proudly. "If I can't fix it, no one can."

"Oh. So you've solved the thermal problem with the power conduit cooling that runs through the North habitation module and makes that one shower always freezing then? Janus always claimed he was getting to it, but he never did, last I heard."

Rodney flushed. "Er…not yet?" he managed lamely. "It hasn't been high on the list of things to do."

"How much is there for you to do?" Linnëa asked.

"A lot," McKay answered. "We're still trying to translate the database, I'm still working on some of the higher science involved in the half-finished experiments that were left laying around, and I've been working on the stardrive for nearly three months now."

"Just…how long exactly has Atlantis lain dormant?"

"Nearly ten thousand years," John answered.

"Ten thousand," Linnëa murmured. "So long…why did it take you so long to return? If Atlantis has lain dormant for ten thousand years, then you cannot have been there for very long."

"We had some trouble figuring out the stargate at first. They had to call in a linguistic genius to figure it out, and he only got lucky because he saw a constellation on the back of a newspaper," McKay answered. "Your people built a lot of very incredible technology, and most of it is light-years ahead of our own. I'm still in the process of figuring out how things work, and like I said, I'm the resident genius."

"Then…what has become of my people?" Linnëa asked quietly.

"They fled to Earth, where they either joined in the civilizations there or Ascended."

"I presume those that Ascended have not bothered to clean up their messes, then?" Linnëa asked, her tone dripping with scorn. "Those who spoke most of Ascencion always went on about not using the power available to us…they were afraid to win, afraid to appear as though they had a definitive position that they would hold regardless of the cost to their so-called 'moral high ground'." She spat on the ground in disgust. "Cowards, the lot of them." Eyes narrowed, she stared at Shepard for several seconds. "Are your people stronger than mine were?"

"We don't really have that many ships…in fact, we only just got the _Daedalus_ running supplies to us every other month. For the first year, we were on our own. What victiories we've achieved were through exceptionally good luck," John answered.

"But you are wiling to fight, yes? To fight, and to win? Are you willing to lose the so called moral high ground and destroy sentient life forms so that the scourge of the Pegasus may be ended once and for all?"

"We aren't as enlightened as your people were," John said. "We've been killing each other on our homeworld for centuries, and it doesn't really seem to faze us anymore. To kill something that isn't even human…" he shrugged. "We've always considered ourselves the good guys, but I have no trouble sleeping at night after killing Wraith. The only time I had trouble sleeping was after I'd killed that Wraith Queen. I was asking myself what sort of war I had started."

Linnëa's eyes widened in amazement at that. "You killed a Queen? How many died because of this?"

"Two." Shepard replied. "One guy had been fed on before I even got there, and she was feeding on my commanding officer when I got there. I…I gave him the merciful bullet. As for the Queen, she kinda gloated, then Ford showed up, and I used the distraction to take one of their stun rifles, and stab her through the chest with it. She screamed in my mind, then said that everyone was going to wake up. ALL of them, so I got out of there while I could, and returned to Atlantis with the hostages I had gone to save."

"And you are willing to exterminate them all?" Linnëa asked.

John nodded. "Yeah. They need to be stopped, and that can only happen if we wipe them out."

Linnëa turned to Islanzadí. "If they make a reasonable request of you, grant it," she ordered. "They are to be considered as extremely valuable allies."

"Methinks perhaps you speak above your station," Islanzadí answered mildly. "Remember your place."

"I am the Lady Minoa!" Linnëa shouted. All around them, trees began shifting of their own accord. "I speak for the forest. I am the forest incarnate. Moreover, I am the anchor of the Blood-Oath. As the Lady Minoa, I _do_ possess the power to displace you. Do. Not. Test me."

Islanzadí had quickly paled when the trees began to move threateningly towards her, and she said "Forgive me. It has been many centuries since you were last this active, and I had wrongfully assumed your positions were merely ceremonial."

Linnëa nodded her acceptance of the Queen's words. "Accepted. We will speak of this no more." As quickly as her mood had shifted to anger, she shifted back, and the trees resumed their earlier positions. She waved her arm towards the nearby field, and four Zero Point Modules rose out of the ground. "These have been maintained in storage for whomever would return to Atlantis. They are fully charged. If you have any that are discharged, or nearing that state, bring them to me, and I will recharge them."

"How can you do that?" McKay asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, I thought they can't be recharged after they hit max entropy," Shepard added.

"They can't, so far as I know," McKay confirmed. "Wait, you were paying attention when I said that?"

Linnëa chuckled at the byplay between the two, and said "Ordinarily, you would be correct. However, if you have a special satellite station in orbit of the sun, someone with Ascended abilities, or some other method of obtaining massive amounts of power, they can be recharged. It's quite a bit easier when they aren't completely discharged, but it can still be done even if they are."

"And I'm guessing you have massive amounts of power?" McKay stated.

Linnëa laughed outright. "Oh, goodness me, yes. I am connected to the entirety of the forest, and there is a great deal of power that remains untapped. I power the great wards of Du Weldenvarden, and the shields in place over this world, and even with all of that power being used, I still have in excess of ninety percent of my power production available for use. Were I to keep one of the four charged modules, I could use it's power to supplement my own, and set about charging the fully deactivated modules first."

Seeing McKay's nod, Linnëa nodded in acknowledgement, and one of the four modules sank back into the ground, with no trace that it had ever been there. With great care, Linnëa removed the wooden caps that had grown over the ZPMs, then removed the modules from their holders, and placed the caps in the empty spaces they had so recently been dislodged from. She handed two of the modules to McKay, and the third to Shepard, saying "This is but a token of our friendship. If ever you have reasonable need, ask, and it shall be provided."

"On behalf of Dr. Weir and the rest of the Atlantis Expedition, I thank you," Shepard said solemnly. "If you need anything and we can help, give us a call, and we'll do our best."

"Of that, I have no doubt.," Linnëa said softly. As Shepard and his team returned to the Jumper, she returned to the tree that she so rarely departed from, saying "You touch and feel Atlantis, and she has accepted you. You could not do anything other than your best."

 _Chapter End._

 _Answers to Readers:_

 _Mystic Sharman: Your recommendations and objections have been noted, considered and filed appropriately. The short answer No. The long answer is that I have the keyboard and will do as I please._

 _davycrockett100: I can't really dignify that with a response. You take the art of the one-liner to a whole new level._

 _Telron: Indeed. But when you cross plot bunnies and writer's block, it creates an interesting situation. Long story short, the engine works, the transmission…can be finicky. Such is life though._


	5. Chapter 5

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" Chuck announced. He tapped the shield key, raising a gleaming, pearlescent white-blue disc in front of the stargate.

"Who is it?" Dr. Weir asked, coming out of her office.

"Receiving IDC now, Ma'am," the tech responded. Two seconds later, he added "It's Ltc Shepard."

The shield faded away, and a moment later, the Jumper emerged from the Stargate at a sedate, easygoing rate.

"Find anything good, John?" Dr. Weir asked over the radio.

"Three ZPMs and a good ally," came the response. "She says we can even get the old ZPMs charged up again."

"And what did they want in exchange for this?" Elizabeth asked, suspicious. 'Nobody simply _gives_ that sort of aid for free.'

"They might ask for help down the line. I don't really know. One of the people there is an Ancient, and she wants to help us end the threat of the Wraith," John explained.

"An actual Ancient? And she isn't Ascended?" Elizabeth asked eagerly.

"She expressed a great deal of disdain for those who had Ascended," Teyla cut in. "She specifically stated that they were cowards who were unwilling to actually fight to win, lest they lose the 'moral high ground'."

Elizabeth's lips involuntarily twitched upwards in a smile. "That does line up with what Dr. Jackson said about the Ascended Ancients being sanctimonious," she said.

"Linnëa has promised us reasonable aid. I'm guessing that means food and shelter, should we need it. The elves claim to have magic, but otherwise the place seems to be in the Middle Ages. I was just waiting for king Arthur to show up and slay a dragon or something," Shepard continued.

That brought Dr. Weir up short. "Pardon me, but I thought I just heard you say 'elves' and something about magic? You _are_ joking right?"

"He's not joking," McKay said. "There's elves there, right out of the legends. Smoking hot, and cold as ice."

"As blunt as he is, McKay's not wrong," Shepard added. "It struck me that Queen Islanzadí would probably be equally at home on the battlefield or in diplomatic discussions, where everyone has to politely insult each other and generally bicker and argue for weeks on end."

Dr. Weir winced at that. "So, if the Queen of the elves is Islanzadí, then who is Linnëa?"

"Linnëa is apparently the only one with even more power than the Queen. She's got a whole forest under her command, and she can animate the trees at will. The Queen had a bit of a disagreement with her, and she smacked that down very quickly, and almost made the Queen piss herself," John explained. "Hell, I think _I_ pissed myself a little when she pulled that trick."

"What did she do?" Elizabeth asked. "You kinda left something out."

"Oh, she made the trees all around us lean over menacingly. I just about thought the Queen was going to pass out from blood loss because she paled so quickly," John answered.

Just then, an new voice entered the conversation. " _Daedalus_ to _Atlantis_ , can you read, over?"

"We read you _Daedalus_ ," Dr. Weir replied, smiling. Today was turning out to be a _very_ good day.

"Dr. Weir, this is Colonel Caldwell, and I'm afraid we've got some bad news. Somehow, the Wraith have tracked us through hyperspace."

"I was unaware that the Wraith had that capability, Colonel. What's the situation?"

"We're under attack," came the reply. In the background, while Caldwell was speaking, Dr. Weir could faintly hear the explosion as something aboard the _Daedalus_ buckled under the stresses of combat. "There are two Wraith Hives here."

"McKay, did you get that Star Drive fixed yet?" Shepard asked.

"I'm not done, but it'll work if you desperately need it to," McKay answered. "Are you thinking…"

"I am," John replied. "I bet she'd allow it."

"Ma'am, sir, I think you should see this," Chuck warned. "I've got a ship in hyperspace, very close to here, but the signature for its hyperdrive is all wrong, and that ship doesn't match anything I've seen before."

"Arrival time?" Dr. Weir asked.

"If they are planning to drop out here, about a minute."

"What can we do?"

"Nothing," McKay said. His mouth was twisted into the smug frown that said he was both superior to everyone else in the room, _and_ worried about his prospects of a continued existence. "We don't have any drones, and we can't cloak."

"What?" Dr. Weir asked. "Why not?"

"Because if the Wraith have any brains at all in their skulls, they know we're here. All they have to do is bombard the planet until they hit something, and we're sitting ducks without the shield. Besides which, if we could get the shield up, with the cloak at the same time, the shield would be visible," McKay smugly glanced over at Sheppard. "I already thought about that one."

Sheppard shrugged. "Asking's free," he said. "I guess we go back to the siege thing again. This time, we have shields-"

"For a few days, anyway," McKay interrupted.

"Which we can hide the _Daedalus_ behind while we perform repairs, and hopefully, maybe shoot back with at the same time," Sheppard finished as though McKay had never interrupted. "Fix her up, send her out, bring her back, and do it over again."

"It's not quite that simple!" McKay cried, exasperated.

"No, but that's the gist of it," Sheppard replied. More quietly, he added, "You're the tech genius, but I like to think I know what I'm doing when it comes to fighting."

"I'm not so bad myself," McKay defended.

Teyla and Dr. Weir shared a glance and a smile, and Ronon laughed outright. Over the radio, even Colonel Caldwell saw fit to chip in. "Did I hear that right? McKay said he's 'not bad' at fighting? The Wraith don't stand a chance now."

"Oh, very funny!" McKay snarled. "You always get into a situation where it winds up being me pulling your asses out of the fire, so stop laughing."

"For what it's worth, Colonel," Sheppard said. "McKay actually is good at fighting-"

" _Thank_ you!" McKay interrupted.

"-when he can use science as a weapon. I'm still scared of letting him hold a P-90."

"I'm not that bad!" McKay protested.

"Yeah, you really are, McKay," Ronon rumbled. "The thought of you with a weapon scares me more than the Wraith do."

"Yes, well, _you_ have the skills required to hunt them on your own!" McKay snapped. "I don't. I'm a scientist, not a soldier."

"Thank goodness for that," Ronon mumbled.

"We greatly value your contributions, Rodney," Teyla said gently. "No one else can do what you can do, but you do not aim well, or often, when you use weapons."

"They're here!" Caldwell announced. "What the hell is…that?"

"What are you seeing up there?" Dr. Weir asked.

"I think I need to get my eyes checked, Doctor," Caldwell answered. "Because I'm not believing what they're reporting. If what I'm seeing is real, that's _Voyager_ from _Star Trek_."

"That's impossible," McKay scoffed. "It's called fiction for a reason."

"I believe I have finished the repairs to the long range sensors," Radek stated, walking up the stairs.

Dr. Weir nodded her appreciation. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"What is the situation?" Radek asked, looking at the gather company.

"Two Wraith Hives, not far away. They've engaged the _Daedalus_ ," Dr. Weir answered grimly. Her tone changed as she added "and apparently, a fictional ship has come to their rescue."

"I get that, Doctor," the aging Colonel answered. "Which is why I don't believe it myself. In spite of the facts that ought to indicate otherwise, that's what I'm seeing. And they've just killed one."

"Must be some sort of advanced camouflage," Rodney stated. "Which could come in handy."

"If it's camouflage, the weapons seem rather realistic," Caldwell remarked. "They've just gotten the other Hive, and we've finished mopping up the attendant cruisers. Dr. Weir, mind if we land on the East Pier to make repairs?"

"Not at all," Elizabeth answered. "I'll send a few teams to help with the repairs."

"Much appreciated. _Daedalus_ out." The connection closed.

"Ma'am, we're being hailed again," Chuck said.

"Open the channel," Dr. Weir replied.

"Unidentified starship, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway, of the Federation Starship _Voyager_. "Do you need assistance in making repairs?"

"They're taking this whole disguise thing a bit far, don't you think?" John asked Rodney.

"Well, it makes sense. I mean, if you're going to take the time to create a disguise that we would recognize, you're going to take it all the way, right?" McKay asked. "It'd be stupid of them not to."

Dr. Weir whirled on the two, and the angry look on her face made both men cringe slightly. "They can hear you!" she hissed as quietly as possible. Then she smoothed her demeanor, and moved slightly closer to the screen.

"I am Dr. Elizabeth Weir, of the Atlantis Expedition. While I doubt your assistance is necessary, I would be glad to meet with you and discuss a possible alliance. You dispatched those Hives with far greater speed than we're used to seeing."

"Yes, we've run up against organic hulls before. Typically, we've got to punch through shields and metal plating first. So, what made the people in the background think we're under some sort of disguise?"

Dr. Weir shot another furious look at John and Rodney, then turned back to the screen. "Ah, that's a bit of a long story. Perhaps we could continue this in person?"

"Sounds fine to me," Janeway replied. "Coffee?"

"I can arrange for some to be made fresh," Dr. Weir answered immediately.

"That's worth an alliance right there," Janeway said with feeling. "I haven't had decent coffee for weeks."

"Well then, do you have transport technology, or do you want to land?" Elizabeth asked, smiling.

"We can beam down," Janeway replied. "If more of those ships show up, I don't think they'd be likely to be friendly. I'd rather have my crew able to take them on immediately, should they show up."

"Understood," Dr. Weir replied. "Atlantis out."

Chuck manned the DHD, long range sensors, and the communications array. Being rather smarter than your average bear, he didn't have to wait for Dr. Weir to signal him before he cut the feed.

Elizabeth smiled briefly to Chuck, a combination of an apology and a message of 'I'm not angry with you', before she glared at John and Rodney. "Office, now!" she demanded.

Rodney saw the stormcloud. "Uh, actually, I have a, uh, experiment in my lab, that could, uh, go critical shortly if I'm not there to deal with it."

"Send Zelenka," Weir uttered. "You aren't going anywhere until I've finished talking with you. That applies to you too, John!" she added, as she saw Sheppard trying to sneak away.

It took Dr. Weir twelve minutes to dress both men down, without once repeating herself. When she was dne, she added orders for both men to restrict themselves to their quarters until such time as the delegation from _Voyager_ had returned to their ship.

"I didn't know she was so eloquent when she gets angry," John remarked, once the two were out of Elizabeth's earshot. "I almost feel like my mom sent me to my room."

"She was an ambassador and a diplomat, where'd you think she picked all that up at?" McKay reminded him. "And thank you, _so much_ for getting me in trouble with you."

"Hey you're the one that started it," John pointed out reasonably.

"And you're the one that started talking about it while they were on a communications line with us!" Rodney shot back. "Which, as far as I'm concerned, means you started it."

"As far as you're concerned-" Sheppard visibly worked to stop himself from going further, and entered his room before Rodney could say anything more. The door groaned shut and clicked as it closed, letting Rodney know he was locked out.

In the command center, Dr. Weir watched as several people materialized in a hum of blue light. "Welcome to Atlantis!" She greeted. "I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the civilian leader of the Atlantis Expedition. Colonel Caldwell of the _Daedalus_ should be here any moment now."

"And the _Daedalus_ would be your ship in orbit?" Janeway asked. She looked around, impressed by the architecture of Atlantis, and noted with an inward smile that Dr. Weir's uniform had red panels in it, while others had blue, and yellow.

"It's not exactly mine," Dr. Weir hesitated. "But they frequently help us out. They're an integral part of the supply chain back to Earth."

There was a white flash, and Colonel Caldwell was standing in front of the conference room. "Did I miss anything?" he asked.

"Not yet. I had just introduced myself, but we haven't gone further than that," Dr. Weir answered quietly.

The pair descended the Staircase of Greeting, and Dr. Weir indicated Caldwell. "This is Colonel Steven Caldwell, commander of the U.S. Air Force starship _Daedalus_ , and our ranking officer here on Atlantis has…" she hesitated briefly as she considered what she was about to say. "urgent business to take care of elsewhere. Shall we?" she gestured towards the conference room.

Once introductions were made, everyone seated, and the Federation captain properly caffeinated, the meeting got underway.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Janeway asked. "We're new around here, and we are likely unable to return home. So, I'd like information and a chance to resupply my ship."

"Forgive my asking, but just where is home?" Caldwell asked. Dr. Weir's warning glare seemed to bounce right off of him as he continued, "You remind me very much of an entertainment series we have back on Earth. A _fictional_ entertainment series."

"Fictional?" Tuvok echoed.

"That's a new one on me," Janeway answered him with an amused look. "Could you tell us more about this fictional series?"

"Sure, since you seem to have come right out of it," Caldwell replied. "It's called _Star Trek: Voyager_ , and it's a seven season television series following the adventures of a United Federation of Planets starship, _Intrepid-_ class, named _Voyager_. The ship was thrown across the Milky Way galaxy by a strange entity known as the Caretaker while the crew of _Voyager_ had been pursuing a Maquis ship through a treacherous region of space called the Badlands.

"The transit kill about half of both crews, as the Maquis ship had been drawn across the Milky Way alongside _Voyager_ , and the decision was made to unite the two crews aboard _Voyager._ Since then, the senior staff has been one Kathryn Janeway in command, with someone called Chakotay as first officer, Tuvok for security, Tom Paris as helmsman, Harry Kim at Operations, Be'Lanna Torres for Chief Engineer, and the Emergency Medical Hologram as the ship's Doctor. There's also a Neelix as cook, and a rescued Borg drone called Seven of Nine working in Astrometrics. That about sum it up for you?" Caldwell asked.

Janeway's expression was a complex portrait of absolute shock, great loss, and not a little anger. After a moment, she recovered. "Then I think I'd like to change my requests," she said at last. "I want a full trade of technology, everything you know in exchange for everything we know. In return, I would like to place _Voyager_ in your service," she said heavily.

"Captain?" the Doctor asked. "Are you sure about this?"

Janeway sighed. "Doctor, we aren't going home. Not…not the home we knew. So, we'll make our home here."

"How can you be sure we are not going home, Captain?" Tuvok asked.

Janeway frowned for a second, as if what she was about to say disgusted her. "Q," she muttered.

Both of the Vulcan's eyebrows rose at that. "It is determined, then?" he asked, unsettled.

"Yes," Janeway replied.

"You are certain you want to join us?" Dr. Weir asked. "That's an awfully large step for someone who's just must us."

"We know about the Wraith," Janeway answered. Her words fell like leaden hammers in the quiet room. "We know about the parasitic race in the Milky Way known as the Goa'uld. We know about the Replicators, and I'm not talking about the ones on _Voyager_. We know a little about the Asgard, Alterrans, Furlings and Nox. Very little, that is. We know about the SGC and the Atlantis Expedition. Again, all we really know is the basics, because the briefing that covered all this lasted a little less than five minutes. Still, it was enough to convince me to join you in the event that this actually happened."

"What do you mean by that?" the Doctor asked.

"Q warned Chakotay and I about this. The Q Continuum put the entire ship on trial for interfering with their affairs. Q was able to change their sentence slightly, exiling us, rather than executing us. We were warned that this 'could' happen two weeks ago to the day. I said nothing about it, because I didn't want the crew to worry about something that might not happen. Shipboard morale was already low, I didn't want to make it worse."

"I believe it would have been more logical to warn the senior staff," Tuvok said mildly. Janeway winced as she picked up the mild rebuke hidden in his tone. "We could have laid out possible courses of action in response to this situation if you had."

"So, you actually are who, and what, you say you are?" Caldwell asked.

"I believe they could be," Radek spoke up suddenly. "What do you know of multiverse theory?"

 _A/N: This is the end of Chapter Five. Please rewind the tape, and insert #6 to continue._

 _Review, people! I draw inspiration from it, and the reviews for the last chapter were like watery diesel for the engine that is my brain._


	6. Chapter 6

_Voyager_ slowly settled on the pier opposite the _Daedalus_. The four massive landing feet touched down with a clunk and the pneumatic sigh of the hydraulics taking the full weight of the ship.

"Well, we're here," Paris announced from the helm. "Not entirely sure where 'here' is…but, we're here."

"Thank you, Mr. Paris. Mr. Kim, please give me ship-wide."

Harry nodded. "Go ahead, captain."

There was a moment of silence as Janeway gathered herself. "Crew of _Voyager_ ," she started. "As some of you may recall, we recently granted a Q asylum. As a direct result, the Q Continuum put us on trial. We were found guilty, and would have been destroyed, were it not for the Q that Picard had made contact with. He was able to change the sentence, from execution…" she took a deep breath to steady herself. "to exile. We…will not be returning to Earth as we remember it. There is an Earth in this reality, but Starfleet isn't here. Many of your homeworlds are not present. Furthermore, we are in a different galaxy, with a terrible foe known as the Wraith. What information we have is available to all of you in the database. Security on all decks will be doubled, and anytime any leaves the ship, they are to be armed with phaser rifles, and in a group of not less than three. If you have any questions concerning the new security measures, please see Lieutenant Tuvok for more information." Janeway made a chopping motion, and Harry cut the feed.

"I think three days of leave would be appropriate," Chakotay suggested, glancing over to where Ensign Kim was maintaining his station with visible effort.

Janeway looked around the bridge, and found that she agreed. Everyone was showing it slightly differently. Kim looked like he wanted to pass out, hopefully to wake and find it all a dream. She privately agreed with the sentiment. Be'Lanna looked to be about half a minute away from ripping someone's head off, and Paris was looking oddly thoughtful. Tuvok was impassive, and Chakotay, normally a very stable person, armed with an easy smile shared at the slightest provocation and a friendly personality to back it up was looking rather tired, and not a little sad. Kathryn nodded silently.

"Three days leave, all personnel. Engineering can put the reactor to bed, and we'll deal with the rest in three days," she ordered. "Disasters and other emergencies requiring our attention are expressly forbidden for the next three days. Dismissed." Once again, the captain watched her crew for reactions. Chakotay was trying to be brave, he managed a sad half-smile. Paris snorted softly, and turned towards the helm to do his part to shut down the ship. Kim was…crying. It was silent, but Janeway was able to see fat tears tracking down his face. Tuvok relaxed fractionally, and Be'Lanna appeared to calm slightly. At least, she didn't look like she'd kill the next person in her path in blind rage.

"I'll have the warp core shut down in half an hour if they know what's good for them," Be'Lanna promised darkly, stalking off the bridge.

Of all the people on the bridge of _Voyager_ , only Seven appeared to be unperturbed. After a moment of eye contact with Janeway, she turned, and strode off the bridge. Not for the first time, Captain Janeway found herself wondering what the ex-Borg was thinking.

One by one, the senior staff departed the bridge until only Chakotay and Janeway remained. She sank heavily back into her seat and finally allowed her shoulders to slump. "All of our hopes and dreams, everything we were working towards…gone," she whispered. "What do we do now?"

"It's not all gone," Chakotay said quietly. "We're still here, Maquis and Starfleet working together, the ship is still intact…yes, we've lost a lot. We haven't lost everything. Don't worry captain, we'll get through this together, like we have with everything else since the Caretaker brought us to the Delta Quadrant."

"I hope you're right," she responded. She turned to Chakotay, vulnerability and despair visible across her face. "I'm so lost right now it isn't even funny. At least in the Delta Quadrant, we had a purpose, a plan. Get back home. Follow Starfleet regulations. Uphold the Prime Directive. We've got none of that here."

"Says who?" Chakotay riposted. "This is a Federation ship, isn't it? You are a Starfleet captain, right?" A Janeway's nod, he continued. "Then it's simple. Do what you would do as the Starfleet captain of a Federation starship. I don't think certain aspects of the Prime Directive still apply, but there are many worlds, each with their own governance system. We would essentially fit in as our own people. We have our own governance, our own territory, even if it does move around the galaxy…I think we meet all the requirements to be our own faction out of the many factions already here."

"I suppose you are right," Janeway said. "I'm not sure how I can handle that responsibility though. Before, I knew I was to answer to someone higher up the command chain when we returned. Now…" she trailed off, lost in her own thoughts.

Chakotay stood, and walked off the bridge, leaving Janeway to her thoughts. She didn't notice.

In Atlantis, another discussion was taking place between Dr. Weir and the heads of departments plus Caldwell.

"Just so you are warned, you're getting a new guy who doesn't properly fit into a specific category. He's good at fighting, and reads Ancient fairly fluently, having been taught by Dr. Jackson. He's got some experience as a combat medic, knows a little about Ancient computers, and a little more about Earth computers…he's very situationally aware, and usually pretty quiet. Stargate Command shipped him here because Vala's presence proved to be…disruptive. He'll follow orders, but I got the impression he's used to leading a small team, or commanding a ship. I'm not entirely sure which. He's the product of illicit genetic engineering, and is apparently a bio-mechanical expert."

"What's his name?" Dr. Weir asked.

"Ajax," Caldwell answered. "Apparently, he picked it himself, as a reference to the Greek legend."

Dr. Weir raised an eyebrow. "That legend doesn't end well," she noted.

"Perhaps he didn't have the whole story," Caldwell said dismissively. "Also, Lt. Sheppard, your request went through, and has been granted. You have a case of beer waiting to be unloaded from the _Daedalus_ right now. It came with a blanket permission to the entire city. So long as the good Doctor here doesn't object to alcohol on base, anyone can make their requests. After all, dollars don't spend very well out here in Pegasus."

"Oh good," Beckett said, relieved. "I've been wanting a good single malt scotch for a bloody age!"

"I'll see to it that a case of it is on the _Daedalus_ when we next supply Atlantis," Caldwell said, amusedly. To Dr. Weir, he said "Before I get inundated with requests, please remind everyone that it can be requisitioned the same way as everything else has been, just like Dr. McKay's coffee."

At the mention of his special ordered, expensive super-caffeinated coffee, McKay looked up. "Did you bring my coffee?" he asked worriedly. "Everybody else drinks the disgusting swill that Flinching's" he spat the name as if it were particularly vile, "laughingly refers to as coffee."

"Yes, we brought it," Caldwell answered patiently. "We've always brought it, since you started ordering it."

"Good, because Flinching's is nasty." McKay reiterated firmly.

"I drink Maxwell House instant, myself," Caldwell said blandly. As he finished speaking, he leaned back to watch the reaction.

McKay buried his head in his hands, and mumbled something about everyone being doomed.

Dr. Weir hid a smile, then looked down at her notes. "Alright, I think we've managed to cover everything. We've all got the manifests, so if there's anything that needs to be brought up, I'm sure the appropriate people will bring it to your attention. Alright everyone, dismissed."

"Thank god, I need to get back to my lab before Zelenka breaks something," McKay said, just about running out of the room.

"I think we should meet this guy," Sheppard said, standing smoothly as Teyla and Ronon also stood.

"Yeah, he sounds interesting," Ronon rumbled. "Do you think he'd spar with me?"

"I'm not letting you beat him up without letting him at least see you in action first," Sheppard protested. "It wouldn't be fair to the poor guy; I mean, there _is_ a reason that the Marines here don't want to spar with you anymore."

"Because they're weak?" Ronon asked, unconcernedly.

"I think it's because they need my services afterwards, lad," Beckett said warmly. He then fixed Caldwell with a steel blue gaze. "I'll be waiting for that case of Glenfiddich," he promised.

"Should I send it directly to the infirmary?" Caldwell joked.

"Probably better. It might need mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Sheppard chipped in, chuckling.

"Lt. Col. Sheppard!" Beckett exclaimed, aghast. "Where I come from, treating good scotch like that is considered abuse!" Then he grinned. "I might have to give it a letting though. Perhaps repeatedly."

"Oh," Sheppard said, nodding. "I'll keep that in mind."

The meeting broke up on a cheerful note, as the various department heads went their ways, and Caldwell returned to the _Daedalus_ to supervise the unloading of goods as well as the repairs.

About half an hour later, Sheppard found Ajax in the gym with Teyla. Teyla was instructing Ajax in the forms used with the Bantos rods.

"Better, but still sloppy," Teyla stated. "Again."

In slow motion, the two combatants moved through the forms, and Sheppard noticed a pair of wings that moved with the person Teyla was instructing.

"Ajax, I presume?" he asked, leaning against the wall just inside the doorway.

The youth bowed to Teyla, the wings dipping lower into a slightly submissive posture before he stood straight again. "Your presumption is correct," Ajax replied cheerily. "And you are…?" he added leadingly.

Before Sheppard had the chance though, Teyla joined in the conversation. "Ajax, this is LtC John Sheppard, the ranking military officer here on Atlantis." She then gestured towards Ronon, who had started a quick series of warm-up exercises. "And this is Specialist Ronon Dex. Dr. McKay is the fourth member of this team, but I assume he is currently in his lab," she explained.

Ajax turned to Sheppard with his hand out. "A pleasure to meet you," he said, shaking Sheppard's hand. "And a pleasure to meet you as well," he added, offering his hand to Ronon. Ronon merely grunted something that sounded vaguely affirmative in reply, as he continued his warm up.

After a moment, Ajax retracted his hand, shrugging.

"He's always like that," Sheppard said. "Kinda prefers fighting more than talking; or waiting, for that matter. Don't take it personally."

"I guess we'll never go hunting, then," Ajax remarked. "Long periods of sitting still and being exceptionally quiet would probably be rather annoying."

"You gonna spar, or keep talking?" Ronon rumbled. "If you just want to talk, there's other places to do it in."

"Sure, I'll go a few rounds with you," Ajax offered.

"Sheppard to Dr. Beckett, we may need your services soon. Ronon just found himself a new volunteer," Sheppard said, tapping his earpiece.

For several tense moments, the only sound heard was of Ronon rapidly twirling his quarterstaff, while Ajax, occasionally spun one of the rods he was holding, and kept shuffling as if to keep an invisible circle between himself and Ronon.

Then, Ronon blurred forward and struck out with his staff. There was a brief flurry of clacks, and a hiss from Ajax as the staff made contact with an arm. The two disengaged, and circled again.

This time, Ajax attacked, feinting left before actually going left. Ronon's staff blurred, and barely caught Ajax's attack in time. "Good move," Ronon acknowledged, as the pair separated.

Then, the two blurred into motion again, this time taking nearly a minute before separating. Ronon was breathing hard, and Ajax was openly panting, with three welts joining the first one on his right arm. His was not the only injury though, as Ronon bore angry red marks on both arms, a testament to the fact that Ajax had been able to land a pair of strikes on the veteran warrior. Several tense moments passed, neither wasting the energy required to twirl their weapons.

Without warning, and catching everyone by surprise, Ajax attacked again, looping around Ronon. The move forced the older fighter to turn and defend at the same time, a trick he'd used on Sheppard many times in the past with devastating effect. Having his own move pulled against him didn't surprise Ronon as much as the observers might have guessed though. What surprised Ronon was the speed and ferocity of the attack; and as it wore on, the duration as well.

Still, he adapted readily enough, accumulating three more bruises and dealing several more, when Ajax unleashed another surprise. Ajax flared his wings, then pushed, hard, pulling himself back while buffeting Ronon with the generated breeze.

"Did not expect that," Sheppard muttered lightly.

"You favor my right arm," Ajax noted, rubbing vigorously at it. The entire arm, from elbow to shoulder, was an angry red. "That's gonna hurt in the morning."

"Morning, hell!" Sheppard exclaimed. "How about now?"

Ajax blinked. "Not so much right now…probably the adrenaline."

"You gonna keep going, or are we done?" Ronon asked, idly spinning his staff.

"…eh, given what you did to my arm, I think I'll pass for now," Ajax replied.

Ronon shrugged. "Your loss," he mumbled.

"We'll have to do it again sometime," Ajax said to Ronon. He then bowed slightly to Teyla. "Thank you for your instruction. I hope to continue with these lessons soon."

"I look forward to it," Teyla smiled, accepting the rods back from her newest student. Ronon wasn't facing them, and Teyla allowed a sly smile to cross her lips for a moment. "Please excuse me," she said. A moment later, she gave out a cry, and charged towards Ronon, who turned in surprise to defend the sudden and vicious attack.

As Ronon began defending himself from the energetic attacks of the Athosian woman, Dr. Beckett bustled in with his medical kit.

"I was expecting worse damage, laddie," he said kindly, examining Ajax's arm. "Ronon has a tendency to put at least one person in sickbay a week."

"He was feeling me out," Ajax remarked absently. His attention was less on the Scottish doctor, and more on the fight unfolding before him. "I haven't seen everything he's capable of, even in his fight with Teyla. I, on the other hand, showed far too much of my hand rather early on. He'll be bored with me in about three weeks."

"Perhaps it's better that way," Beckett answered. "It's less I'll have to patch you up for. Now, I don't suppose you could come down to sickbay and get a physical and your inoculations done?"

Ajax shrugged. "Got nothin better to do at the moment, aside from unpacking…lead the way, doc."

As the two walked back to sickbay, the kindly Scottish doctor hesitated for a moment, then asked "How do your wings handle?"

"In day-to-day stuff?" Ajax clarified. He shrugged, then answered. "Not sure how to answer that. How do your arms handle?" At Carson's look, he chuckled. "I've lived with them all my life. It'd be weird if I didn't have them. Medically, just fine. Show me anything that looks abnormal, and I'll check it against the baseline values I'm aware of. What sort of medical technology did the Alterrans leave behind for us to find?"

"Not a lot, I'm afraid," Beckett answered. "Aside from the scanner, that is. Ye lie down on the bed, and it sweeps down and back, doing almost all the tests I could normally run. It saves a lot of time, but can be a bit power hungry."

Ajax quirked an eyebrow. "Could be interesting to examine. I'm always on the lookout for new sensors, and having a medical suite might be nice…"

"What?" Beckett asked.

"Hmm? Oh!" Ajax looked slightly embarrassed. "Nothing, just a little side project I've been fiddling with for the past three years when I've had time. In its current iteration, I call it System 6. I'm not wearing it right now though, because when I went through the Asgard transport systems, the blasted thing nearly knocked me out with sensory overload from all the incoming information. That's a bug I'm going to have to iron out, but for the moment I've got an idea for a crude patch that should hold until I can properly deal with it."

"I see," Beckett answered. He didn't, but didn't wish to seem rude. "Here's Sickbay. Can ye lie on your back, or is on your face the only way I'll be able to get you laid flat?"

Ajax briefly dipped his head. "We should be able to handle face up, if it's only thirty seconds or so," he said, laying down.

With a warm hum, the scanner slid towards the bottom of the bed, then smoothly returned to the head, where it snapped off.

"Oh…dear me," Beckett said softly. On the screen was what appeared to be red static superimposed over the image of the scan. Tapping his earpiece, he said "Dr. Weir, Dr. McKay, please come to sickbay. Security to Sickbay. Bring the anti-replicator weapons."

"Something wrong?" Ajax asked, concerned. "I'm going to guess you don't typically call for security when you scan someone."

Carson turned to face Ajax, his face set in a grim line. "Most people aren't Replicators," he answered.

Three soldiers stormed in, carrying odd weapons. "Don't move!" one of them barked. "Get out of there, Doc, we'll handle this."

Without facing away from Ajax, the doctor retreated from the room just as Dr. Weir and McKay arrived.

"What's going on?" McKay asked, then his eyes landed on the weapons the soldiers were carrying. "Ah, crud, not this again."

"Would somebody like to tell me what's going on?" Ajax answered.

"The scan showed nanites," Carson answered.

Ajax shrugged. "Yeah, and? They're a vital part of System 6. Without those nanites, the connectors at the base of my skull would corrode and give me metal poisoning. They also translate the incoming information from the pods, and allow for absolute control over my autonomic functions."

"So you aren't a Replicator?" Dr. Weir asked.

"Bull," McKay added. "Until I see the code for myself, I don't believe a word of it."

Ajax shrugged. "Okay. There's a reader in my baggage. Looks like a blood pressure cuff with a USB cable on it."

McKay snorted. "Replicators don't use USB, and I doubt they would have thought to duplicate that of our inventions. Does your gear have any surprises in it we should be aware of?"

"There's a few personal items in there that I'd prefer if you stayed out of, from a privacy perspective, but nothing sensitive or dangerous," Ajax replied. "Clothing, a tower, laptop, tablet, the reader cuff, a diary, three journals, and two photo albums. Couple of tool sets as well."

"I'll go have a look, then," McKay stated.

"I'll go with you, sir," one of the soldiers said. "Just in case he's not being entirely honest."

Just then, Sheppard arrived. "What's all this about?" he asked. "Somebody throw a party and not invite me?"

"We think Ajax may be a Replicator," Dr. Weir answered. "He claims not to be, but the scan showed high concentrations of nanites, according to Carson."

"If he were a Replicator, or even infected with Replicator nanites, then why is his arm still bruised from the beating Ronon gave him?" Sheppard asked. "That sort of damage would have healed very quickly."

Ajax swiped his hands through the air, miming touching buttons, then turned to Sheppard. "I should have the damage fixed in about twenty-eight hours," he said.

"Yeah, see?" Sheppard insisted. "A Replicator would have healed within minutes, not just over a day."

McKay returned a few minutes later, carrying the cuff, which he had plugged into his own laptop. Warily, he approached Ajax, and held the cuff out by the edge, just close enough for Ajax to grab it by the opposite edge. Both guards appeared ready to fire their odd weapons should Ajax do anything other than accept the cuff.

"I read the mission report about your first contact with the Pegasus Replicators," Ajax stated softly. "If you manage to do _anything_ to my code, I will be most unimpressed. What do those weird guns do, anyway?"

"They break the bonds between the individual nanites," McKay answered. "You'd fall apart if you were a Replicator."

"So…a thirty minute headache, at best. I'll be watching closely, Dr. McKay," Ajax warned. He put the cuff over his arm, and again mimed pressing buttons in empty air. "You should now have reading access."

"You're making an awfully big deal about it," McKay grumbled, as he started looking through the code. Moments later, he added, "aaaand now I see why. This System 6 of yours could do a lot of damage if the slightest detail is incorrectly handled."

"So he's not a Replicator?" Dr. Wier clarified.

"That's what I tried to tell you," Ajax snarked.

"He does have nanites, but they appear to be of his own design, and the coding is entirely different," McKay said. "This would be a major medical breakthrough if you ever chose to share it."

"Sure," Ajax replied sarcastically. "I'll just call up a lawyer so I'm not responsible for the damage it can do, shall I?"

"It's designed to heal, not damage, isn't it?" McKay asked, confused.

"Yeah, but without safeguards, you can kill yourself using this thing," Ajax answered. "Lack of sleep, for example. You know how the story goes. You're in a crisis, you need to be alert, so you ask the system for the alertness you need. The crisis ends, but you still feel fresh, so you maintain that level of alertness. Three weeks later, you keel over dead because your body couldn't handle it anymore. There's a whole lot of stuff that this system can do, and not all of it would be good for you in the long run, especially if you don't know what you're doing. I'm working on a new system, 7, which should incorporate safeguards and warnings so that the average person can use it without too much trouble. Besides, what's it going to be used for? Cancer cures and supersoldiers."

"We wouldn't do that," Sheppard protested.

"Bull," Ajax snapped. "Bull, and you know it. You need to be faster, stronger, mentally quicker? Perhaps a sub-variant of telepathic? This system could conceivably do all of those things and more besides. And you want me to believe you'd pass on those advantages? I was born in the dark, LtC Sheppard, but not yesterday."

Dr. Weir looked interested. "Your system can do all that?"

"Can't do the telecom yet, but everything else? Yes," Ajax answered.

"Would you be able to supply us with this system of yours?" she pressed.

Ajax sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No," he answered at last. "7? Yes, but not 6."

"Your system could save lives out in the field," Dr. Wier stated solemnly.

"And take lives just as readily," Ajax snapped in return. "I _will not_ release a system to the general populace if it doesn't have safeguards in it! I can't have it on my hands. Besides, I'm about sixty percent through the coding for the new system, and it'll be rolling out new features. You'll have to wait until it's finished, tested, and I feel it's ready for rollout."

"Very well, is there anything you need?" Dr. Weir asked.

"Two full-time research assistant who know how to read Alterran, or four part time assistants," Ajax answered readily. "Full access to the Ancient databases, with particular focus towards sensors. Manufacturing facilities, if you have them. And…did I see _Voyager_ parked on the pier? I'd like to gain access to their databases as well, if possible."

"And when could we expect delivery of this thing?" Sheppard asked.

"Figure a year for research and development. There's a bunch of new things here, so the actual coding is on hold until I can learn about these new sensors, and see if there's anything that I should be integrating into System 7. Being able to get medical data, for example, could be extremely useful out in the field."

"Alright, your request for research assistants is approved," Dr. Weir stated. "I'll get the paperwork started on that. Rodney-"

"As interesting as it all sounds, I've got other projects that need my attention," Rodney interjected.

"I wasn't going to ask you to be an assistant. Pick two people who can read Alterran, four if there's nobody you can stand to permanently lose until this project is completed," Dr. Wier said.

"He can have Kavanagh and Watson," McKay answered.

=/\=

 _That's All, Folks! Tune In Next Time!_


End file.
